Hide and Seek
by Aurora Marie Williams
Summary: AU. After PP. Sam moves to a house in Amity Park where Danny Fenton's family used to live. Rumor has it that it's haunted by a ghost. She doesn't believe in ghosts, but when she sees Danny Phantom in her attic... Adopted from Multi-Shipper Girl with permission from original author.
1. Sam the Gothic Newbie

******Title: **Hide and Seek  
******Author: **Multi Shipper Girl  
******Disclaimer: **I do not own Danny Phantom.  
******Summary: **Sam moved to Amity Park. She lives in a house where the people say Danny Fenton's family used to live. Rumors has it that it's haunted and there's a ghost. She doesn't believe in ghosts, but when she sees Danny Phantom...

******Author's Note: **I haven't watched this show in a while so sorry if I have characters OOC. Please review! :)

**Author's Note from Aurora Marie Williams: **Above is the original author's note from Multi-Shipper Girl. This story was adopted from her with her permission. I'm the beta reader for this story, and she needed someone to take over for her, so being the beta reader, I decided to take on the challenge. Multi-Shipper Girl has let me know what she had in mind for this story and wanted me to fill in the blanks. So these ideas belong to both of us! For the next couple days, I'll be posting chapters everyday until I get to the last chapter that the original author posted. After that, I'm not sure how consistent the updating will be. I'm going through each chapter again and revising it once more (with permission from Multi-Shipper Girl), so if you have any suggestions for certain things to be refined, just let me know! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter One: Sam the Gothic Newbie

I didn't ask for all of this. I would have been perfectly happy with an ordinary, average, mediocre life that a normal fifteen year old should have. I'd rather worry about getting homework assignments into teachers than worrying about the things that I___do _worry about.

My name is Sam, and if you call me Samantha, chances are I'll shove my combat boots down your throat. I an Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian, and goth. I'm not the prettiest girl on the street – pale skin, shot black hair I keep in a partial ponytail, and eyebrows that have wax begging to be put on them. I've always loved my light violet eyes that I don't coat with waxy colors of make-up. I can deal with my favorite purple lipstick, but not that greasy stuff that girls are convinced will make them be better and prettier people.

My clothes aren't designer specialties. I bought them at a store in the mall called Cataclysm. Midnight black tank top that exposes my midriff – I can't explain why I like this type of shirt, I just do – adorned with a purple oval laying down horizontally in the middle. A black skirt with neon green lines running up, down, left, and right over purple tights. And of course my beloved combat boots.

Jewelry? Black bracelets and a black choker. Yes, I'm a goth. You're probably thinking that I'm a freak. I get that all the time, but it doesn't bother me anymore. I can't change who I am and I've learned not to care what other people think of me.

My family and I recently moved to Amity Park. It's a small town in Illinois that borders Lake Michigan. It's a big change from living in Manhattan, New York, but at least I still have the water. I had already been secretly planning for the Lake to be my place of refuge. But it's a really big change from living in New York – the city that never sleeps. I really didn't like living in the city – although I liked living on an island – and neither did my grandmother. My parents wanted the best for us. Hence, the move... for about the fourth time in my life.

When I first saw our new house, I'd liked to have died from over laughing. It ___was_ a three storey red brick house with something on top that resembled a gutted space ship. There was a sign on the house, but it had long since deteriorated, and I couldn't make out what it might have once read. My mother was disgusted with the house, and since we're filthy rich, a complete remodeling of the house went underway.

Now, the house resembled our old home we had in Las Vegas about four years ago when I was in sixth grade. Three stories, smoothed Indiana limestone, prairie grid lines in white windows, double doors that lead to an Italian marble foyer, and a beautiful garden surrounding the house. Oh, and most importantly of all, the huge space ship was taken off an hauled to a junk yard. As it was being taken away, a small piece of metal fell off that I slipped into my pocket. It felt wrong to be completely rid of the house's previous state.

We have lived inside this house for the whole summer. Most of my time was spent with my family because I was too shy to get outside and meet anyone new. Although, I did go to the docks as planned, and a small bookstore.

I made a discovery on one trip to bookstore. Long story short, I saw an advertisement for The Nasty Burger. I was absolutely revolted at first because the name sounds... well, nasty. After finding out it was the only place in Amity that offered a vegetarian meal, I tried it out. I had only ordered a garden burger and a side salad, but it was surprisingly good.

I also discovered soon that it was the hot spot for kids my age to use for a hangout. Needless to say, I adopted a shady corner in the joint as my own personal seat; I didn't want to make contact with anybody until school started. This year I would be entering Casper High as a sophomore. I'm okay at making new friends. I don't mention that I'm rich because the snobby popular kids come around and I don't want to go for the popularity. I just want to have nice and normal friends. I don't want to have friends that like me because I'm rich. At my other school, I gained one best friend. She's really nice and we try to keep in touch; I have her cell number and email.

I'm physically ready for school, but not mentally. I have to get ready for being known as the new kid again. The first few days are fine because it's rare that someone wants to talk to the newbie, so I get to enjoy a few days of refuge by being avoided... just the way I like it.

Obviously, it's morning; I can tell because my parents are milling around my room happily. They pull the blinds up, letting the sun shine through reminding me that it's my first day of school. I'm usually a morning person, but I couldn't sleep last night. I thought it was because of the fact that my first day of school is today, but as I'm walking around the house to go to the bathroom to brush my teeth, I ___feel _there's something... strange.

It's the odd and scary feeling like you feel someone is watching you. You can feel it, but you don't know who or what it is. It's that cold feeling that runs up your spine and then you can see the hairs on your arm rise straight up. At first, I thought it was just that the air conditioning was malfunctioning, but after my thorough analysis of the system, nothing appeared to be wrong. As for the feeling that someone is watching me, I don't know. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe being outside in the sun will make a difference, but since I'm a goth, I don't really like the sun. You could say my case is a lose, lose scenario.

Mom bought some Quakers Fruit Variety oatmeal – the blueberry was my favorite – so that was my breakfast. I eat quickly, burning my tongue, and ignore the strange feeling that someone is watching me. I can't be the only one in this house that feels the strange presence, but I don't want to ask. I come to the conclusion that I'm paranoid. I did watch Dead Teacher III last night...

After I ate my breakfast, I left for school on a long yellow transportation unit that society calls a school bus, but in my world it's a personal prison. In a few months, I'll get my driver's license which I can't wait for. No more sitting on the bus for me. When the school bus dropped us off, I stare at the Casper High building. I gather all my mental strength and walk into my _other_ personal prison.

Surprisingly, I get settled into school just fine – and it happened quicker than I expected. The school day goes by really fast. There are eight periods each day that last about half an hour each. Before I knew it, the day was already halfway over.

I glance at my schedule nervously. It was eighth period which meant it was my last time to make a major mistake that would mark my reputation as "loser" forever. ___English with Lancer, B: Room 212. _I race to the room when all the other students are switching classes. He's not in the classroom when I arrive, and neither are any students. I wanted to be here early because I want to make a good first impression... and have a good seat. Suddenly, a wave of students overwhelm me. I hold my ground, and the cluster dissipates. As I'm walking to get to my seat, I bump into someone.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized. I looked at the person. ___Oh crap_, I thought.

My height, but more intimidating. Long athletic tanned legs, an extremely curvy figure, long wavy black hair, aqua colored eyes, pink halter top, jean capris (all form fitting), and enough make-up to beautify a classroom full of fourth graders. She didn't take my apology very well.

Her Hispanic eyes narrowed when she saw me. Great, it's my first day and I've already made an enemy.

"Watch where you're going, goth freak!" She has a Spanish accent laced within her voice. The kids that were present in the classroom laughed at me... except for one boy with dark skin. "Maybe you could try putting on some make-up. Maybe it'll make you look... decent." She shrugged at the last word and kept on walking.

There's too much anger inside of me and I can't control myself. I force a sarcastic laugh. "Thanks for the tip, but I don't think you know the first thing about being decent. You look like you try to make yourself perfect, but it has a reverse affect on you." She turned around, looking extremely angry and I see the rest of the kids watching our argument like they were expecting an all-out brawl was to come. "Then again, I guess I shouldn't expect so much from someone who's so shallow." My fellow students' are staring at me like an object from outer space that had crashed into their perfect world.

That's when she looks offended. She got up in my face and spat, "Did you just call me ___shallow_?"

"Now, ladies, I've heard enough," a low male voice said. My head snaps in the direction of the voice. A somewhat short man with a majorly receding hairline and round belly is standing the doorway. His administration tag reads Mr. Lancer. Just great. "Paulina and..." He looked at me not knowing what to call me because I'm new. "Uh... miss, please take a seat now." We did as told, and the bell rang the moment I took my seat towards the back. More students filed into the classroom with an embarrassed look on their face for being tardy to class.

The teacher introduced himself and mentioned the fact that there were new faces among us. I noticed a boy and two other girls blush. I'm grateful for that because now I don't feel so awkward, knowing there are other new kids. Mr. Lancer asks the new students to rise one at a time and tell the class a little bit about themselves. The worst thing a teacher could ever do to a student on their first day at a new school. I started getting nervous because I was last and my turn was next. When it was, Mr. Lancer tells me to stand up and introduce myself.

"Uh..." I started out stupidly, making myself look awkward. "My name is Sam Manson."

"Yawn." A blond girl says in high, cheery voice that's very annoying. I figure she's one of Paulina's cronies because she has some top of the line clothes and is surrounded by a bunch of huge buff guys that look like they're on the football team.

"Students," Mr. Lancer chided them and looked at me. "Please, continue, Sam."

"I'm from New York City," I speak bravely so that Paulina's friend knows she doesn't bother me. "I'm an Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian." Some kids raised my eyebrows at that – I'm not afraid to admit it aloud. I know there's not a lot about me to know so I finish lamely. "I like to listen to music and read... so yeah..."

I sit down and the class, along with Mr. Lancer, claps politely. But they did it with hesitation. Mr. Lancer saved me from my moment of embarrassment and dived right into the lesson. The moment he turned his back to the class to write on the chalkboard, a boy sitting on my right grabs my attention.

"Hey," he whispers. It's the boy that didn't laugh at Paulina's comment about my being a freak. He has on a beige long-sleeve shirt, brown pants, black dress shoes, and a red beret. He has chocolate skin, but he doesn't have brown eyes like I would expect. Instead they were a crystal-looking teal color.

"Hey," I whisper back to him.

"You stood up to ___Paulina_. No one's done that before."

I smile because he's so amazed. "It's about time someone did, right?"

"Yeah, finally. Don't worry about her or her friends. They're just popular jerks. I'm Tucker Foley."

"Mr. Foley, Miss Manson," Mr. Lancer called out our names sternly. I hadn't even noticed that he stopped writing. "I know it's your first day, Sam, so I'll let you off the hook. As for you, Tucker," his eyes move to look at the boy sitting next to me. He's making an innocent smile, so the teacher just rolls his eyes. "Don't start," he said in a dry tone. "It's only the beginning of school."

"No promises," Tucker whispered under his breathe.

When Mr. Lancer turns back to the board, Tucker winks at me and begins making doodles on his notebook paper.

I think I made a new friend.


	2. An Old Friend

**Author's Note: **Like I said, I'm going to re-revise all of these chapters, correct some things I missed the first time when I was beta reader for this, just make it more fluent than before. Hope you enjoy chapter two!

Chapter Two: An Old Friend

I hung out with Tucker for the whole day and as a result I learned a lot about him. Okay, scratch that: I learned he has two particular passions. Technology and meat. I'm not sure which he loves more. If he lost his meat, he'd probably conjure up a picture of meat on his PDA. If he lost his technology, he'd probably hold a t-bone steak all day pressing imaginary buttons wondering why the screen wouldn't change. And then he'd probably eat the steak. I despise meat lovers, but he's the exception because he's the first guy that I actually like and want to be friends with. For the most part, our school schedules match, with the exception of history and science. I'm okay in history, but I'm no Albert Einstein when it comes to science; that's the class I dread the most. Especially when dissection programs come along. I can't stand doing that to animals.

At first, I was a little leery of Casper High. Now I really enjoy being here. The teachers are great and so are the kids... for the most part. Tucker says that I need to watch out for Paulina Sanchez. Like I needed any persuading! Since the incident in English, I've officially been on her bad side.

But I'm not scared of her. She's the schools' hottest and most popular girl, but she's as fake as her tan. On the plus side, I only have two classes with her; English and Spanish. I regret taking the latter now, though, because she can speak fluent Spanish. Meaning, when I try to speak it, I'll sound like an epic failure which will add to the list of things she'll be razzing me about. But I can handle my own battles. I dealt with girls like her at my old school, so it's nothing new. There will always be a Paulina Sanchez wherever I go.

Mr. Bennett, our science teacher, began telling the class about the homework assignment but the lunch bell cut him short. Students were out of the classroom faster than lightning, obviously not caring about the homework. I stayed along with a few others to listen to our teacher about the homework; reading a chapter in our text book. Not too bad.

After dropping my books off at my locker and retrieving my sack lunch, I headed to the cafeteria. It was the second day of school, yet I had no idea of where to sit. The first day there had been an empty table I had grabbed, but now there was no empty table. No sanctuary. The only table I spotted that had open seats was nearly full with some weird kids having an intense match with Pokémon cards.

Sighing, I realize that's my only seating option. I begin making my way towards the table. But then I hear a familiar voice calling out to me. I look around for the voice and see a dark-skinned boy waving at me. ___Tucker_. Evidently, I had overlooked his more than vacant lunch table. I change direction and approach his table.

There's a dark-skinned girl seated right beside him. She's very pretty: wavy, dark brown hair that reaches her waist, sparkling green eyes, and a yellow shirt and orange pants that compliment her skin tone and figure very well. She's smiling at me, revealing her pearly whites as I take a seat across from them at the small, circular table.

"Hey, Sam," Tucker greeted me. I returned the salutation. "This is Valerie Grey," Tucker continued, a crazy smile on his face. "She's my girlfriend," he added dreamily. Valerie rolled her eyes playfully. Then she looked over at me.

"I know you," she said in realization. I'm a little confused because I don't know her, and I don't think I knew her before I moved here. "We have history class together," she says. "I sit three rows behind you."

I nodded. "How long have you guys been dating?" I asked, anxious to divert the conversation away from me.

"A year," Tucker answered proudly, the crazy grin still etched on his face.

Valerie rests her head on her hand. "Sometimes, I wonder why I'm with him... and his obsession with geeky gadgets and meat. You can't date him without dating the other two." She smiles at her own jest.

"You love me," Tucker supplied simply with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Just eat your burger, Foley," she told him flatly, yet lovingly. She then looked at me with interest. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Nope. I'm single." I did had one boyfriend during my freshman year, but we broke up because of issues... but I wasn't ready to share that personal information with this new... ___acquaintance._

"Don't go looking around here," she advised in a bored tone. "None of them are worth it. The jocks aren't that great either."

"She met Paulina," Tucker mentioned, his mouth full of french fries.

"Really? Lucky you," she said sarcastically. "She's, like, the root of all evil. I can't believe she was my friend..."

"You found better friends that are way cooler than that crowd." Tucker stopped stuffing himself long enough to put a comforting hand on his girlfriends shoulder.

"Yeah..." She smiled, trailing off in thought, but frowned when she did.

Tucker resumed to eat again, but I can tell there's a sadness in his teal eyes. He did say ___friends_ and I wonder if there was another person in this group. There's definitely tension in the air now.

Tucker changed the subject to a lighter one that's not about their friend. We get to know each other and I find myself beginning to like them more. Tucker and Valerie are a good couple, but the only thing that is nauseating about them is that they flirt all the time... and badly at that. In the hallways they brush past each other and exchange little side grins, as if they're trying to be inconspicuous. But it's also sweet how they give each other little pecks on the lips out in public. They also hold hands a lot, but it's almost sad when they do. It's like they're doing it more for comfort and reassurance than out of passion. They continue telling me about one of their disastrous movie dates (Paulina was to blame), as I eat my pasta salad – no bacon bits – that my butler made me for lunch.

I begin to feel a pair of eyes on my back – wait, no, more than one pair. I drop my spoon, sit up real straight, and look behind me. Paulina and her posse are making their way to our table. ___Speak of the _devil.

"I see you two added her to your group," Paulina says casually, but there was something else she came to say. You can tell because her friends are smirking.

"It must be awful for you to lose a friend." She looks at Tucker and Valerie. "Especially you," she sneers, looking at Valerie. "I knew how... ___close_ you were to him."

"Shut up, Paulina." Tucker is glaring at her something fierce.

"I don't see why you still care about him," Paulina comments. "It's been months since he was here." She pauses for three horribly tense seconds. "He's probably ___dead,_" she said cruelly. Valerie is suddenly interested in her white sneakers, and Tucker is clenching the table with both his hands, trying to maintain a calm composure.

It's not working. If looks could kill, Paulina would be dead. I thought Tucker was going to explode, but he's trying to control himself. Three super buff guys at the jock table are keeping one eye on Paulina and one eye on Tucker. Their expressions make me hope Tucker doesn't snap.

I narrow my eyes at Paulina and she looks over at me. "Now they have you, goth freak. Maybe you can help them get over their depression. After all, they need a third wheel to store aside for their bicycle of gloom because Da –"

"Don't say his name!" Tucker shouted, cutting her off as he stood up faster than a speeding bullet.

Some of Paulina's girl friends giggled menacingly. The guys who were now standing behind Paulina look like they were going to attack Tucker if he does anything stupid. "Awww, still a touchy subject for you after all these months? He hurt your feelings that badly?" She asked in a taunting voice. Then she deadpanned. "How pathetic."

Her friends howled with laughter. Tucker looks like he wants to kill them all. Valerie suddenly looks upset; liquid is forming on her lower lids. I still don't know what Paulina is talking about, so I wonder why Paulina's words are affecting the, so much. I guess a lot of things happened in this town. I don't know what, but hopefully, they can tell me once Paulina is gone.

"Just face it. He's not going to come back. Danny is gone." She swept her midnight black hair over her shoulder, and left quickly with her friends.

Tucker began storming towards the prep, but one of the jocks, the blonde one, stepped in front of him, blocking his path. He roughly pushed Tucker to the ground and probably would've done something worse if the lunch supervisor hadn't just walked in. _Why wasn't the supervisor here earlier?_

Valerie rushed over to her boyfriend. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"I'm fine." He brushed the whole thing off and sat back down in his seat.

"What was that about?" I asked, completely lost and confused.

They exchanged looks like they aren't sure if they should tell me. Tucker looked as if he was going to, but Valerie beat him to it.

"He was our best friend..." She said it so quietly, I could barely hear her.

"Danny?" I asked cautiously.

She nodded. "Yeah... Danny was our best friend and he was my... my..."

"It's okay. You don't have to say it," Tucker told her softly.

Tears were forming in her eyes majorly and she blinks them away. "Um... excuse me," she said in rush, leaving abruptly. She got up with the tray and put it in the trash before she left the cafeteria.

"Bye, Valerie Fenton!" Paulina and her friends call after her as they have another round of laughter.

I was about to ask Tucker a million questions such as who Danny was and what was the connection between him and Valerie, but the look on Tucker's face made me stop. I wait for Tucker to speak first because I don't want to say the wrong thing.

"I thought I could stand up to Paulina like you did. I can't, though, because every time she brings up..." His voice wavers. He sighs, grasping for control of his emotions. "She just has a way with words. I was friends with... ___him_ forever. Then Valerie came along and everything got a little better, but now it's not. Her and I just have a long history with him and he's... well, I don't know where he is actually. We really miss him... lot."

He left abruptly too. For a moment, I thought I was going to sit here by myself, wondering what exactly I had just witnessed, but to my relief, the bell rang. I went to my next class, thoughts jumping around in my head like a band of crickets. Tucker and Valerie were friends with Danny – whoever he was – but something strange happened to him that caused him to leave Amity Park.

I'm going to find out who Danny Fenton is... or was.


	3. Paranormal Activity?

******Author's Note:** I got a Beta Reader. Finally! You can re-read the first and second chapter if you want. Some of things I had have been changed and some stuff were added in, but it's nothing major I don't think. Enjoy reading and please review! :)

**Author's Note: **Above is an author's note from the original author. It's when I came into play! Beta readers are awesome because you get an outside opinion and they catch things that you don't and think of things that you wouldn't. Hope you enjoy chapter three!

Chapter Three: Paranormal Activity?

Bathrooms at my high school were hardly ever used for strictly bathroom breaks, and Casper high held true to that statement as well. Girls bathrooms are just places for girls to text and gossip.

Right after the sounds of my toilet flushing dies out, I hear a group of girls enter the bathroom talking loudly. Pulling my feet up. I crouch down slightly and I recognize a familiar pair of shoes – what do they call them? Sperry's? – that could only belong to Paulina. Believe it or not, I'm not into self-inflicted pain, so I choose the slightly less dangerous option of standing on the toilet seat to wait for Paulina and the rest of her posse to leave.

I couldn't help but sigh. It would be just my luck for me to be in the same confined quarters as her at the same exact time. I've had enough of Paulina to last a life time.

"I don't see why Tucker and Valerie still care about Danny so much," Paulina said carelessly. All of her little friends murmur in agreement. "It's been a year since the Disasteroid," she continued.

This is where I became confused. What did this Fenton kid, or Tucker or Valerie for that matter, have to do with the Disasteroid? Of course I knew what had happened. There was a huge asteroid that was nearly three times the size of Earth and the asteroid was going to obliterate our planet. Luckily, Danny Phantom, a ghost from some other dimension or something, along with a whole bunch of other ghosts had aided the Earth. They had turned the world intangible, allowing the asteroid to pass right through the planet without harming a single living thing. It was quite miraculous really. But I still didn't know what my friends had to do with the stupidly named asteroid.

"Besides," Paulina said, "Danny acted like a total jerk after that for some reason . . . I can't believe I actually liked him."

"Um, you, like, liked Danny ___Phantom_. Not Danny ___Fenton_," one of her friends corrected her in a bubbly voice.

"So what, Star," Paulina replied airily. "It's the same person. Foley and Grey need to move on. Some ___hero _we had. . . ." Paulina continued to rant on about it more, but the bathroom door squeaks open and Paulina's voice fades as she leaves.

I grab my school things, exit my stall, and began washing my hands absentmindedly. No matter how hard I focus, what I had just heard doesn't make sense. Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom were the same person? Danny Phantom, the ghost that had saved the world was best friends with Tucker and Valerie– and just so happened to be very attractive? Oh, wait... did I just say that?

None of this made any sense. Some white hot water jarred me from my thoughts and I realized that I had been staring at some girl in the mirror while I was in deep thought. I pulled a bad poker face and sprinted out of the bathroom, drying my hands on my pants.

After some consideration, I decide to confront Tucker. He seems like the only person that would know the truth since he seemed to be such close friends with Danny Fenton. It ___had _crossed my mind to ask Valerie, but she had got so choked up when Paulina was taunting her, I figured it not best.

I glance at a clock in the hallway and realize that a whole period has passed. It's time for study hall, so I head to the library where I run into Tucker. I snatch my chance and ask him if he and Valerie would like to come over to my house after school. He says that he and Valerie aren't doing anything, so he'd like to. I couldn't believe he didn't catch my real intentions; inviting him and Valerie over was just a ploy so I could ask them about Danny.

I met them at my locker after my last period, and after I grabbed my English homework, we headed for my house. We were talking about a difficult homework assignment on the way to my house, and when we rounded the corner and my house was in view, I noticed that Tucker and Valerie were no longer at my side. I looked back to see them standing stock still gaping at my house.

"Uh... guys?" I asked confused.

Tucker sighed. "You never heard ___anything _about this house?" I shook my head and flicker my eyes to Valerie, but she let her boyfriend be the one to speak. "Something about this house is... strange." I wonder if he already thinks there's a creepy vibe without having to go inside. "A lot of memories..." he muttered to himself.

I don't know what else to think of his reaction to my house other than its weird. Has he been at this house before I moved in?

They stare out my house like it's an object from space. Then emotion play on their faces: confusion, anger, and... ___pain._

"What is going on here?" I demanded. "What is wrong with my house?"

They both sigh and exchange brief glances. That was really getting annoying.

"It's a long story," Tucker whispered, barely audible. That phrase was also getting very annoying

"Let's talk about it ___inside _my house then," I suggested sounding a bit aggravated, but I can't help it. I hate it that they're keeping secrets from me and keeping me in the dark. I walked up the steps, unlocked the door with my key, and waited beside the door like a footman for them to enter. They stood there for a few more seconds, and then Valerie grabbed Tucker's hand and went inside.

I closed the door behind them and went upstairs to my room. I turn on the lights and sit on my bed watching Tucker and Valerie walk inside. I hear Valerie whispering something that sounds like, "This is his room..." Her eyes scan the whole place while Tucker shoots her a glare.

"Cool room you have here," Tucker compliments as if he ignored what Valerie said completely. He leans against the wall with his arms crossed, watching as Valerie sits beside me.

"Thanks." I don't know what's so special about it. It's pretty dark. Black walls with amethyst curtains, a dark violet bed canopy with pretty Gothic designs on the midnight black cover. My room is just black and dark purple themed (my two favorite colors), not very bright colors. I'm sure he's just being nice.

"Not to be rude, but we don't want to talk about... Danny or what happened to this house," Tucker said plainly.

"She's going to find out anyway, Tucker," Valerie told him. "Phantom Planet Day is just a month away."

"___Phantom _Planet Day?" I asked, tasting the words slowly because of how ridiculous it sounds together.

"Remember when Danny Phantom and all of those ghosts saved the world from that asteroid by turning the world intangible?" Valerie asked. I nodded. "Well most of the world has gone on and forgot about it, but Amity Park never will. So the council decided to have a celebration in honor of all of the ghosts on the one year anniversary."

"But I still don't get what the big deal is," I said.

Tucker piped up. "It all has to do with Danny Phantom." Then his voice rose. "Until he walked out on us-"

Suddenly, the floor trembled and there was a loud crash in the room that made all of us jump and made Valerie and I scream. A glass vase lay in millions of pieces on the now soaked carpet floor. Two blood-red roses lay beside the vase. The worst part? The sharp pieces of glass were barely one-fourth of an inch away from Tucker; one of the pieces had even pierced Tucker's thick shoe. His pants were soaked from the knee down from the water in the vase. His eyes widen in horror and looks at Valerie.

"That was nothing," I insisted. "I must have put the vase at the edge of my dresser-"

"And it flung itself at me!?" Tucker asked sarcastically.

"Tucker..." Valerie warned.

"What?" He quickly changed to be annoyed and outraged. "No. You know what? Forget it. Let's act like this never happened. I just don't like being here. There shouldn't have to be an explanation. You're new so..." He trailed off letting his negative emotions taking effect on him enough that he can't even speak. He plucked the large fragment of glass from his shoe and slipped it in his pocket. He spun around and abruptly left my room.

Valerie got up and looks at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, Sam. Maybe next time." She made a friendly smile. "Just you and me. Tucker's obviously not comfortable."

Valerie left my room, leaving me by myself. Whatever just happened... It has to be because I carelessly placed the vase too close to the edge of my dresser. Tucker ___was _right beside the dresser and Amity Park ___is _on a fault line... They probably think it was some kind of paranormal activity going on.

"Is everything alright, Sam?" My butler, Simon, asked worriedly, peeking around the corner.

"Uh... yeah. My vase fell," I answered.

"I'll clean that up right away," Simon said, leaving to get the proper supplies to dispose of the mess.

My eyes are locked on my cluttered desk. I can't believe that it has gotten so out of control because I'm a neat freak. I blame it on my ADD, Mom and Dad don't know I have it, only Granny, but I can't concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing if there are things out to distract me. I fill a trashcan up and set it out for Simon to dump it. I turn my laptop on and I'm entering my password when Simon walks in with the broom and dust pan and a few towels.

The normal start-up programs pop up when I get logged in, one of them being Skype. I'm glad to see my friend from New York is online. I finish my English homework in two minutes and send my friend a video message request.

Bree Johansson's face shows up on the screen. We've been friends since I moved to New York my seventh grade year, and we've been through a lot together, but even I have to admit we are unlikely friends with our opposite personas. She's into music you sway to and light pastel colors. She has flawless tan skin, strawberry-blonde hair, and unnaturally vivid blue eyes, and was nearly always wearing an ice blue blouse to match her eyes. I see her sitting in her white room where the walls have been plastered with posters of her favorite movies, actors, actresses, and singers. We quickly start updating each other on what has been going on in our lives since we last talked to each other.

After I realize she isn't looking at me, but instead over my shoulder. I turn and see Simon pressing a towel to the ground to soak up the water.

"Made a mess, Sam?" Bree teased.

"Uh...kinda?" Her face looked confused. "I had friends over and we were talking. The vase tipped over and it fell at my friend's feet."

"Was your friend okay?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"Yeah. No glass injured him." Tucker was lucky that he hadn't been hurt. Shouldn't he be thankful for that instead of getting angry? "They left. Wasn't here for that long."

"Well, your friend almost got hurt by glass." There was a playful smile etching its way onto her face. "Maybe you should be more careful where you put your things, Samantha."

"And maybe ___you _should be more careful which car you decide to spray paint." It was for a prank that our grade wanted to do for April Fool's Day. We thought of spray painting Erica Bush's car (a clone of Paulina Sanchez who's a senior), but it was actually the principal's car. They happened to have the same ones. As a result, Bree and two other students got in major trouble.

"How was I supposed to know that it was Mrs. Snyder's car?" she asked.

"The license plate, honey." Bree narrowed her eyes at me and I smirk at her reaction.

"Anyway, how did you know that the vase wasn't thrown by a ___ghost_?" I rolled my eyes at her crazy question. "'It just fell over?' Really, Sam?" She smiled. "Maybe your house is haunted." She made spooky noises that didn't sound scary at all; it sounded more like Taylor Swift miserably singing ooh's and aah's.

I shook my head. "You're delusional. Ghosts are not living in my house." I smiled and switched my tone to a deep bass. "We're not hosting an intergalactic kegger down here," I quoted from one of Bree's favorite movies.

She started to giggle. "___I know_, but what if they are, Sam? That would explain some things. Like how you said it's freezing at your house-"

"The thermostat must be broken."

"You feel like someone is watching you-"

"I really should quit watching horror movies before I go to bed."

She sighed. "Do you always have an excuse for ___everything_?"

"Those aren't excuses." Bree gives me a doubtful expression. She opens her mouth to speak, but I don't want to carry on the conversation any more, so I make-up a quick excuse. "My mom's calling me for dinner, legit, I have to go, Bree. Talk later?"

"No! Wait!" She tried to say more ridiculous things about there's a possibility my house is haunted. I ignore her, exit out of Skype, and set my computer to hibernation.

My family is very formal, so I had to change into my dinner garments. Tonight a chose a scarlet silk dress that reached the floor, opera length black satin gloves, black one-inch heels, and a long black obsidian necklace. I throw my medium length hair into a french twist. After exiting my room, I descend the granite stairs, and rushed through the marble hallway to the dining room.

Heels clacking, I enter the exquisite dining room. Mahogany table and chairs (with plush velvet cushions) sit below a crystal chandelier. Four individual specialized meals are under golden coverings waiting to be unveiled rest on the surface of the table. My mother, father, and grandmother are all seated at the twelve foot long table, all patiently awaiting my arrival.

I always told myself I would never ask my parents if they noticed something strange about this house. They're skeptic, but I can't be the only the one that feels cold all the time and has the feeling of someone watching me.

We bless the food and then remove the covers over our food. I smile at my selection; wild rice pilaf under steamed okra and sweet carrots sauteed in a light Tai sauce. A crystal bowl of fresh and juicy pomegranate is garnished with a slice of lemon.

"Simon says you had friends over," my mother said. She seemed very delighted about this. I hadn't brought friends over since I met Bree and my ex-boyfriend. "Who are they?"

"Tucker and Valerie. They're really nice." True, I had only known them for a couple of days, but I wasn't in the mood to go into depth.

"I'm so happy for you that you made new friends, Samantha," she squealed, her large, dangly pearl earrings shaking as she laughed. "It's about time you have fun."

"Well, when you have a family that likes to move around a lot how am I supposed to have fun?" I asked sounding a bit rude, but I can't help it. We've been moving around a lot and it was hard for me to have close friends. I'm lucky that I have Bree. Someone to keep me sane in this place.

"They should come over again soon," Dad said interested. "I would like to see them."

"Uh...I don't think that's going to happen," They looked at me confused; I seize the opportunity to discuss the whole issue. "They don't like it here. A vase flung itself at Tucker and he got scared." I forced a weak laugh. "He thinks that the house is haunted."

"That's ridiculous." Dad said. I inclined my head in agreement as I rose my champagne glass to my lips. Relax, it's just sparkling water, though.

"This house is perfectly fine," Mom agreed. "We got it from those nice Fentons."

I choked on my water at the word ___Fentons_. My family looked alarmed and I try to calm myself down. I drink more and that seemed to do the trick.

"Are you alright, Samantha?" Dad asked worriedly.

"Yeah," I cleared my throat. "It's just that... you said ___Fentons_."

They look lost. "And...?" Mom said.

"I..." I really don't know what to say. I only know about the boy, Danny, and nothing else. I lie. "I hear that name a lot. It sounds familiar."

I popped some pomegranate in my mouth and act as if nothing happened. They exchange concerned glances, but I don't pay attention. I was too busy fitting the puzzle pieces together in my mind. I had found an answer. I knew why Tucker and Valerie were so antsy here. I know why they had been acting so weird and mysterious.

Danny Fenton used to live here.


	4. Ghostly Stories

**Author's Note: **Fourth chapter in one day! Of course I'm not writing it from scratch, but revising four chapters in one day is a new record for me, anyhow. Enjoy chapter four!

Chapter Four: Ghostly Stories

The next day I'm back in the library at school for study hall. I'm working on purely homework; translating Spanish to English. Part of me wants to rip this paper in half and watch it burn. Another part of me actually wants to ask Paulina, but it's not like she would help me. We're learning the basic words in the Spanish class, but I think it's a language that I'll never understand or speak correctly. Using my cellphone to get on the net and going to Google Translate would be really helpful, but I can't because the ancient librarian is keeping her hawk eyes on me and we can't use our phones in school. It was a rule that every school has and must to follow otherwise they'll confiscate it and you won't see it for a few days. I can always try to hide it, but I'm not going to risk any chances that will make me lose my phone. I love my phone too much... like Tucker loves his PDA.

As the thought of my best friend the techno geek crosses my mind, he walks in the library holding hands with his girlfriend. I waved and smiled at them, and they made their way over to my table. All three of us temporarily forgot about what had happened at my house yesterday. Of course I still intend to let them now what I discovered at last nights dinner. As Tucker and Valerie take their seats beside each other, in front of me, I stash my homework in my trapper. Spanish was enough to make my brain burst.

"Hey, Sam," Valerie greeted me kindly. "What were you working on?"

"Spanish," I groaned. "It's the worse language ever."

"I always thought German was," Tucker said. "Took it for a year and I wanted to kill myself."

Valerie looked at him smiling. "You do speak well in German."

"Danke," he said sheepishly flipping to a certain page in his science textbook.

I appreciate them keeping their lovey dovey-ness to a minimum.

The other good thing about study hall was Paulina isn't here. Only a blonde girl and two guys, one looked Asian and the other was blonde. The same one that pushed Tucker to the ground at lunch yesterday. They're only a few tables away from us. I hear their names are Star, Kwan, and Dash. What kind of parents would name their kids Star and Dash? They don't bother us and I think they only do when their leader, Paulina, is around. Though, Valerie does tell me that Dash uses Tucker sometimes as a punching bag. He hadn't approached him yet so he could be in a good mood. For now.

While they're working on their homework I moved on to my English. Mr. Lancer sure does like to keep his students busy. We're going to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I need to get the book from the library because he didn't have enough copies for all of his students. He said we could either use the school's library or the community one. I use the rest of my study hall time to look for it quick before anyone else can. I let them know that I'm going to get a book and I went to the shelves to search under the F section.

I skimmed through the words on the book spines looking for the author's last name. It didn't seem to pop anywhere yet, but another book did. It's not the one that I hoped to find, but it was . . . interesting. Unfortunately, the surname sounded all too familiar. It was a book called Ghosts of Amity Park by Jack Fenton. I wasn't sure if Fenton was a common name around here or if it was related to Danny.

Flipping the book over to the front, the almost glowing ghostly green words popped against the pitch black background. The book was fairly thick, so it was safe to assume it was more than two hundred pages. I scanned through the summary and these words made an effect on me: ". . . Disasteroid . . . Skulker . . . ghosts exist . . . portals . . . weapons . . ." I glanced at the contents on the fist page. There was an introduction about the Disasteroid, and a lot, and I mean a ___lot, _of ghost information.

I admit that I was extremely curious about this book, so I decided to check it out. I found The Great Gatsby about half a minute later and made my way to the check out desk. After getting my receipt, I shoved Ghosts of Amity Park into my book bag so Tucker and Valerie wouldn't see it. I sat back down at the table, and began reading The Great Gatsby.

By the time I finished reading the first chapter, the bell rang. We went to our next class in silence. I noticed an exchange between Tucker and Valerie as we exited the library. Tucker's eyes flickered towards me and then back to Valerie. They gave each other a nod, like they had a silent conversation in their heads. Tucker went to his class, but Valerie kept walking with me even though we had already passed the classroom she needed to go to.

"Hey, so, I was wondering if you would like to hang out at the mall after school?"

"Sure. I need to let my parents know."

She smiled. "Great! We can talk about anything you want. Even about Danny."

Maybe that's why Tucker left. Was this a set up? "I'll look forward to it. Thanks."

She doubled back to go to her class and I went to mine. At least now I have something to look forward to after school. In seventh period class, computers, I text my mom to ask if Valerie and I can go to the mall. She approved enthusiastically. I suspect that she is happy I'll be hanging out with a friend.

Before I knew it, the dismissal bell rang. I gathered my things and met Valerie at her locker. We walked out of school excitedly chatting and made our way to her red Prius, a.k.a. her baby. She worked for two summers to buy her car.

I could get one right away if I would ask my parents, but I don't want to live off of their money all the time. I actually want to work for it. She asked me if I would like to go home to get cash, but I already had a couple hundred dollars in my backpack. Emergency money in case I something bad happened to me and I needed to buy a plane ticket or something– my mother insisted I always keep it on me.

We sped over to the mall right away. It was just a few minutes shy of half an hour, so Valerie turned on the CD player in her car. At first I was confused about what it was, but Valerie set me straight that it was Justin Beiber. I'd rather listen to rock than this unpleasant noise, but it was her car. She could poison it if she wanted too.

I thanked the good Lord when we arrived at the mall – my ears were figuratively bleeding. We ran into the entrance, and headed over to Valerie's favorite stores. I was looking at some jewelry, and Valerie saw me. She shook her head when she noticed it was skulls and bats.

So it was straight over to Macy's to get me some new clothes. I picked out a lot, and so did Valerie. All for me. I tried everything on – so Valerie wouldn't get her feelings hurt. Everything I chose was black and red with the occasional green and purple, but it was mostly black.

Valerie had picked out things for me that seemed absolutely gaudy at first (things that had pink lace and yellow satin), but I tried things on, and I eventually found some things that I liked. There was a plain lilac shirt that matched my lipstick that I liked, so I bought it. Along with some dark colored jeans and black hi-top all-star converse. It was a bit of a drastic change for me, but I got use to it pretty quickly.

I bought Valerie a couple of outfits too, even though she insisted that I not spend any money on her.

Our stomachs were growling at six o'clock, so we raced over to the food court, our hands full of various bags. We were sitting down at a table with our food and drink when Valerie sparked a conversation.

"What's new with you?" Valerie asked casually. I swallowed my bite of soft pretzel with cheese.

"I know why you and Tucker were uncomfortable at my house. Danny Fenton used to live there."

"How do you know that?" Her face was shocked.

"My parents bought the house from them. I understand if you don't want to come to my house anymore-"

"We would love to hang out at your place. I can deal with Tucker, don't worry about him. I'm sorry about his behavior." She took a sip from her diet coke.

"That's okay. I understand now. I got a book about ghosts when we were at study hall today," I grabbed it out of my bag to show it to her. She looked at the pages. "The author is Jack Fenton. Who is he?"

"Danny's father. He and his family moved to Indiana . . . but not him."

What kind of parents would not bring their son along? "Why not Danny?"

"He got disowned." My eyes widen at that. I was about to ask more questions, but I notice her confused face as she continued to skim through the book. "That's weird. . . ."

"What?"

"A page about Danny Phantom isn't in here. It looks like someone ripped it out."

Valerie showed it to me and there was a page that someone had torn close to the binding. The page before Danny Phantom was information about another ghost named Clockwork. The one after was about some rocker named Ember who had a seriously cool look. Valerie is right. It is weird . . . .

"I didn't do that," I said. "I don't know why someone would."

She shrugged. "Who knows? That's the only page that's missing." She handed the book back to me and I put it inside my bag.

"Why did Danny get disowned?"

She breathed out a sigh. "It's a long story." _Argh_.

"Do you want to talk about it at my house?" I suggested. "Where it's more private?"

She nodded. "Yeah. That would be much better." We finished our pretzels and diet cokes in silence.

Valerie drove us to my house. When we got there, she met my parents who were enthusiastic to finally be acquainted with her. After running into them, Valerie and I went to my room to start our conversation where we left off. I closed the door and locked it with my self-installed deadbolt.

"Danny was disowned because he's not like most humans. He's part ghost . . . or what the ghosts at the Ghost Zone call him. A Halfa. About a year ago, his parents built a portal that allowed access to something called the Ghost Zone. It's the place where all ghosts reside." I nodded for her to continue.

"Danny went into the portal before his parents activated it and he turned it on from the inside. Danny was practically electrocuted and his DNA was infused with ectoplasm. He was knocked out temporarily, but when he did wake up, his appearance had changed entirely. His black hair turned white, his blue eyes turned into glowing green ones, the suit he had been wearing changed to opposite colors. He even had powers; ghost powers like flying, phasing, and all sorts of other things.

Tucker was told about it because he was Danny's closest friend. It was a huge secret and nobody knew except for him and Danny. I didn't come into the whole equation until much later. Long story short, he ruined my dad's work place accidentally, and in turn left us very poor. I hated him and when ghost hunting weapons showed up in a box at our apartment door by an enemy of Danny Phantom's named Plasmius, I welcomed it. There was a high-tech suit, lasers, guns, traps, and so on and so forth.

"My father never liked me doing that, and a month ago, he burned them. I was upset, but there was no point in using them anymore because no ghosts are around here. I eventually knew Danny's secret when another ghost was playing with Danny. We dated, when I thought I knew he was just Danny Fenton and I was still hunting Danny Phantom, but eventually broke up. I knew I couldn't be in an intimate relationship while hunting for Phantom.

"Remember when the Disasteroid was supposed to wipe out the Earth?" I nodded again. "Danny convinced all the ghosts in the Ghost Zone to help the earth since the Ghost Zone would be destroyed if the earth was. Danny exposed his secret to all of Amity Park when all was said and done. The town was shocked . . . well, except for me, Tucker, and Danny's sister, Jazz, who had known for quite some time about Danny's secret. Danny's parents weren't so thrilled. After all of the chaos died down, they disowned him. Now we don't know where he is."

I made an attempt to absorb all of what Valerie had said. The thought about the Halfa is ridiculous, but it must be real. I was looking Valerie in the eyes the whole time, and I knew that she never lied once. She had been one-hundred percent honest.

"Would you like to know where Danny is?"

"I would love to, but Tucker wouldn't. They were really close friends. Danny had major attitude with us when his parents disowned him. We did everything. Tucker offered his place, but Danny didn't want to. One day, he suddenly left without saying a word to us. When he left it hurt me the most when I guess I shouldn't let it affect me that much. Anyway, if we would search for Danny, where would we start? That's the problem. We don't even know if he's alive."

"I'm sorry that I can't help you."

She forced a small smile. "That's okay..."

A thought hit me when she mentioned something about a Ghost Zone. "The Ghost Zone is a refuge for ghosts, right?" She nodded. "Would Danny be there?"

"Maybe. I don't see why he would. Only one other person has a Ghost Zone and he is Vlad Masters. Like Danny, he's a Halfa. His alias is Vlad Plasmius, the one who sent me the ghost tech to destroy Phantom, but he lives in Wisconsin. We're just kids; we can't afford to go there. Danny is lucky; he can just fly himself there. Maybe he's somewhere that's not predictable."

"Maybe..."

___Buzz!_

Valerie's phone vibrated once; she picked it up and looked at the large screen. "That's my dad," she said. We got off my bed at the same time. "Dinner is ready."

I rose a questioning eyebrow; it was almost ten thirty at night.

"We eat late. Dad has a third shift job at a factory," she supplied. "I had a great time hanging out today, Sam. I can't wait to see you in your knew outfits tomorrow!"

"Yeah," I agreed. "We should do it again sometime."

"Totally. See you at school tomorrow." She left.

I'm alone in the room, but not quite. The cold air returned and the feeling of being watched is ever present.

Hypothetically speaking, what if a ghost had escaped the Ghost Zone? Or what if one had never returned? Could that ghost be... here?

**Author's Note: **I think that will be the last chapter I revise for today. Hope you have enjoyed this so far!


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